When we did Thelma & Louise, I really didn't think it would have the kind of resonance it had. We thought it was fun, and we were cast in the kinds of roles usually played by guys. It wasn't seen as any feminist statement.

I was very concerned that it wouldn't be seen as a revenge film. The real thing Louise is asking throughout the movie is, "Why do guys think this is okay? Why would they think that sticking their tongue out is sexy or interesting, and would they want someone to do that to their mother or their daughter?" I added some of those lines. That's what I was just concentrating on, and having a good time.

It could have been a tiny, little film. It was really framed in a heroic vista. It was a beautiful, beautiful place to be working. I felt like John Wayne. And we didn't shoot at the Grand Canyon—it was in Utah, in Moab. The joke for a while was that there was only going to be a voice-over of us because of these amazing shots they were getting all the time. We were in such a testosterone-infused atmosphere, as Ridley [Scott, the director] was adored by the crew. That car is still there at the bottom of the cliff, by the way. They couldn't get it out.

Geena? She's the best. She is so smart and so funny. The movie is a love story of women. It's very romantic. When the film came out, there were men, strangely enough, who wrote me letters that said, "Thelma & Louise got me to leave my small town." Because don't dream it, be it.

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Today I think there is a crop of young women who are interested in having fun and having lives but are not necessarily trying to please all the time—even though they are scrutinized constantly. The Melissa McCarthys, the Amy Poehlers, all of those gals who are creating work, being funny and independent. You don't always have to be about liberation. Then there's Shailene Woodley and Ellen Page and Brie Larson—they seem to be creating a life. Kristen Stewart. Saoirse Ronan. These women are using their careers instead of being used by them.

"Where would they be now, if they'd lived? Maybe Louise became a lesbian. That would be fabulous." —Susan Sarandon

For Thelma & Louise's 25th anniversary, we want to do a tour on campuses because there's this huge movement now to expose rape and make sure people are accountable. You don't have to go off a cliff. I'm curious about having that conversation.

Where would they be now, if they'd lived? Well, Thelma's definitely not with her husband anymore! One would only hope she found Brad [Pitt] again. [Laughs.] Maybe Louise became a lesbian. That would be fabulous. Maybe she continued her trip and ended up running an Airbnb. I certainly could drive better by the end of the movie, so maybe I became a driver of some sort.

But I don't think either of them would be going back.

Davis and Sarandon in Thelma & Louise in the Thunderbird they drove off a cliff

The Neal Peters Collection

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GEENA DAVIS

You know, I think we actually threw three cars off the cliff. We had five cars altogether. The first time they shot it, the car took off, and then it tipped sideways. And, of course, we had dummies that looked like us. Not to mention stunt doubles and photo doubles—there were Thelmas and Louises everywhere.

We really didn't know the movie was going to strike a nerve; nobody had any idea. It was very shocking, the reaction we got. When the movie came out, there was negative stuff like, "It's so man-hating," and "Oh, God, this is not the solution." There was all this talk about how it was so violent—and this was after Lethal Weapon came out!

One very common theme in the press was, "This changes everything. Now there are going to be so many female buddy pictures, so many female action figures. This just completely rewrites everything," and it didn't. The really short answer is, it didn't do shit.

Thelma & Louise taking an early selfie

The Neal Peters Collection

We've been stuck in this world where Hollywood operates under the assumption that women will watch men, but men won't watch women. We never get any momentum because everything's a one-off. Callie Khouri, who wrote Thelma & Louise, had a friend who was a writer, and around three years after it came out, she went to a studio to pitch a movie with two women in the leads. It wasn't anything remotely like our film, but the studio turned around and said to her, "Oh, no, there's been Thelma & Louise."

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What gives me hope now are the young girls—Lena Dunham, Jennifer Lawrence—in Hollywood. I love all of them. I love everything they're doing; I love how outspoken they are. And I love how the topic is getting brought up so much. It didn't used to be this way, even just a few years ago. I don't think anybody would've said there weren't enough parts for women because it would have sounded like you were complaining.

"People ask me, 'Is there going to be a sequel?' And I'm like, 'What the heck do you think happened to them?!'" —Geena Davis

But the most liberating thing about filming Thelma & Louise was hanging around with Susan. She changed my life. The movie changed my life. She always gets embarrassed, the way I talk about her. She's so self-possessed—she knows who she is and what she thinks. She moves through the world in such an integrated and beautiful way. I remember telling Susan once, "I'm never going to be like you. You're always going to be ahead of me. I'm never going to catch up."

We do keep up with each other; we get together. It's not profoundly often, but we're really good friends. Oh, in New York one time, we were walking to lunch together. We're used to whatever level of people recognizing us, but together it was crazy. There were a couple of screeching brakes. [Laughs.] People ask me, "Is there going to be a sequel?" And I'm like, "What the heck do you think happened to them?!"

Play Thelma and Louise trivia with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis below:

This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of Harper's BAZAAR.

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